PBA Meralco Bolts Inspiring Journey in the League History

Meralco Bolts is one of the 12 professional franchises that are taking part in the Philippines Basketball Association currently. PBA Meralco started its journey in the league back in 2010 and since then has performed well coming so close to winning the PBA Championship but being denied in the finals 4 times. This blog will analyze the PBA Meralco Bolts team owners and fan support, alongside their current roster, team management & coaching staff, and recent performance in the PBA competitions for the last few years.

Meralco Bolts Team Overview:

Meralco Bolts is currently owned by the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and they won the bidding rights in 2010. Previously, this team was named Sta. Lucia Realtors was initially established in 1993 and went on to compete in the PBA till 2010. Manila Electric Company is under the ownership of Manuel V. Pangilinan who is currently the owner of 2 other PBA teams the NLEX Road Warriors and the TNT Tropang Giga.

This team has its official mascot which is named "Biboy Liwanag" and he became the mascot in 2010 when Meralco Bolts made their debut in the PBA. This team proudly wears jerseys of Navy Blue, Orange, and White Color. The Light uniform of this team consists of white and red color, the Dark uniform has Navy Blue and White color, and the Alternate Uniform has red color as main with navy blue stripes

If you are interested in PBA news about teams, you can read other articles in All PBA Results of this blog.

Current Squad of PBA Meralco Bolts 2023-2024:

Here is the current roster of Meralco Bolts that will participate in the 2023-24 season of PBA competitions.

Pos.	POB	Name	Height	Weight	DOB
G	Philippines	Black, Aaron	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996–12–03
G	U.S.A	Lofton, Zach	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1992–11–18
G	Philippines	Dario, Diego	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	145 lb (66 kg)	1997–01–06
G	U.S.A	Jackson, Shean	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	x
G	U.S.A	Banchero, Chris	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1989–01–24
F	U.S.A	Hodge, Cliff	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1988–02–03
G/F	U.S.A	Newsome, Chris	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1990–07–25
G	Philippines	Caram, Anjo	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1991–01–14
G/F	Philippines	Quinto, Bong	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	x	1994–12–15
C	Philippines	Almazan, Raymond	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1989–08–02
G/F	Philippines	Maliksi, Allein	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1987–09–18
G/F	Philippines	Pasaol, Alvin	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1995–05–06
F	Philippines	Jose, Raymar	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1992–08–06
G/F	Philippines	Rios, Jansen	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1991–10–28
F/C	Canada	Torres, Norbert	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1990–01–12
F/C	U.S.A	Pascual, Kyle	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1990–04–13
C	Australia	Bates, Brandon	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	231 lb (105 kg)	x

Current PBA Meralco Bolts Coaching Staff & Management:

The following table lists the technical team including coaches and managers of Meralco Bolts for the PBA Championship 2023-24.

Staff Member	Position
Norman Black	Head Coach
Ronnie Magsanoc	Assistant Coach
Gene Afable	Assistant Coach
Luigi Trillo	Assistant Coach
Patrick Roy Fran	Assistant Coach
Charles Tiu	Assistant Coach
Al Panlilio	General Manager
Betty Siy-Yap	Assistant General Manager
Ryan Gregorio	Assistant General Manager
Paolo Trillo	Team Manager

Meralco Bolts standings in PBA competitions for the last 5 Years:

Here is the overview of the recent performances of the Meralco Bolts basketball team in the PBA Competitions over the last five years.

Season	League	Record	Placement
2023-2024	PBA - Commissioners Cup	6-2	N/A
2023-2024	PBA - Philippine Cup	-	N/A
2022-2023	PBA - Commissioners Cup	4-8	10th
2022-2023	PBA - Governors Cup	9-7	3rd
2022-2023	PBA - Philippine Cup	12-9	3rd
2018-2019	PBA - Commissioners Cup	4-8	9th
2018-2019	PBA - Governors Cup	13-9	2nd
2018-2019	PBA - Philippine Cup	3-8	11th

Fans Support for the Meralco Bolts team:

In the PBA Meralco Bolts has garnered a certain fan base due to its performance in the League since its debut. They have been a consistent team throughout the seasons they participated and reached the finals on four occasions but missed out on all of them.

These were heartbreaking moments for the team and their fans but they are still behind their team. The official social media accounts of Meralco Bolts boast a great followership, especially on Facebook where they have more than 30k followers.

If you are interested in PBA news about teams, you can read other articles in All PBA Results of this blog.

Meralco Bolts Achievements in the PBA:

Since 2010, Meralco Bolts have competed in each competition held by the Philippines Basketball Association. They have performed quite decently in each competition whether it is the Commissioner’s Cup, the Philippine Cup, or the Governer’s Cup, and reached the finals 4 times but unfortunately could not win each time.

Currently, they have no PBA Championship to their name, however, the previous franchise of Merlaco Bolts, Sta. Lucia Realtors was one of the most successful teams in the PBA during its tenure. They won the championships on multiple occasions that been discussed below.

PBA	PBL (3)
2 championships	1990: PBA Philippine Cup
2001: PBA Governors' Cup	1992: PBAMaharlika Cup
2007–08: PBA Philippine Cup	1994: PBA Reinforced Conference
3 Finals Appearances	x